A juror has been booted off the trial of a Manhattan nanny accused of murdering two children after he admitted he didn’t think he could be impartial.
Yoselyn Ortega, 55, allegedly stabbed six-year-old Lulu and two-year-old Leo Krim to death in the bathroom of their Upper West Side apartment in October 2012.
Ortega waited until the children’s mother Marina Krim arrived home and found the horrific scene before the nanny plunged the knife into her own neck in a failed suicide attempt. Prosecutors say she wanted to relish in the devastated woman’s pain and horror before taking her own life.
Her trial continued this week and on Tuesday, jurors were shown horrific photos of the bloody scene of the murders. One juror told the judge that he could no longer be fair and impartial and was excused from the case, theNew York Times reported.
A juror has been booted off the trial of Manhattan nanny Yoselyn Ortega (pictured in court on Friday) accused of murdering two children after he admitted he didn’t think he could be impartial
Minihan lived directly below the Krim family, whose kids Ortega (pictured, Friday) nannied. When he entered the apartment, he first saw Ortega, ‘staring…the eyes of the devil in my face,’ he said. ‘Her eyes were bulging’
At least two jurors wiped away tears as they were shown pictures of the blood smeared walls, floor and toilet of the bathroom where the bodies of Leo and Lucia were found with their eyes open. Others gasped and held their faces.
The bottom of the tub was almost entirely red, the New York Times reported.
Pictures showed blood smearing the walls, floor and toilet of the bathroom where the bodies of Leo and Lucia were found with their eyes open. The bottom of the tub was almost entirely red.
One bloody knife sat in the sink, inches away from a pink child’s toothbrush. Another sat wrapped in a towel atop a toy refrigerator in the hallway.
At least two jurors wiped away tears as they beheld the horror images, as others gasped and held their faces. By the afternoon, one juror told the judge that he could no longer be fair and impartial and was excused from the case, the New York Times reported.
Ortega, 55, allegedly stabbed six-year-old Lulu and two-year-old Leo to death in the the bathroom of their Upper West Side apartment in October 2012 (Pictured, from left to right: Nessie, Lulu and Leo)
Jurors were shown pictures of the blood smeared walls, floor and toilet of the bathroom where the bodies of Lulu (left) and Leo (right) were found with their eyes open
Details about the dismissal of juror number eight, of Hamilton Heights, weren’t made public although it appears to be linked to his wife,a former Administration for Children’s Services employee who now works at a children’s charity.
The father-of-two told the court he could not continue after seeing the gory crime scene photos and hearing the harrowing testimonies.
‘You can’t will a wife to be quiet and stay out of his head!’ Ortega’s attorney Valerie Van Leer-Greenberg was overheard to say after a bench conference with the judge and the juror.
Justice Gregory Carro told the juror that, if he couldn’t guarantee impartiality, ‘the parties have agreed to let you go.’
‘I wish you would have thought about this prior to being selected as a juror,’ he added.
The man has been replaced with an alternate juror – an investment banker from Harlem.
Ortega has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, and stared straight ahead throughout the presentation on Tuesday without looking at the photos, the New York Post reported.
Marina Krim (pictured with Leo) showed up to the dance studio where Lulu was supposed to be shortly before 5pm, and panicked when Lulu wasn’t there. In less than an hour, Krim would find Lulu and Leo, dead in the bathroom of her apartment
Ortega (pictured with Lulu) said she was angry that the Krims had asked her to clean the house in addition to looking after the children
Leo was stabbed five times, and Lucia, who fought back, was stabbed 30 times, according to prosecutors.
Also on Tuesday, several more first responders were called to testify.
‘That’s the worst crime scene I’ve ever seen, other than September 11,’ said paramedic Eugene Nicholas.
‘I saw blood everywhere,’ said Kevin Orr, a second paramedic.
‘Mrs. Krim was stunned and hysterical, saying, how am I going to get this out of my head?’ said paramedic Reuben Shelton.
Another EMT said that Marina Krim, who was with her three-year-old daughter Nessie when she discovered the gruesome scene, pleaded with paramedics to shield her from photographers as they left the building.
Nessie was spared from seeing the horror scene and didn’t seem to understand what had happened, the court heard.
Earlier in the week, building superintendent Michael Minihan offered a chilling account when Ortega’s eyes bulging out as she gasped for air and bled from a self-inflicted knife wound in her neck.
Minihan lived directly below the Krim family, whose kids Ortega nannied, and remembered rushing to apartment in October 2012 after hearing mom Marina Krim’s blood-curdling cries.
Marina Krim (right) leaving court clutching her husband Kevin Krim’s (left) hand. Marina erupted at Ortega on Friday after six hours of heart-wrenching testimony, She screamed at the former nanny: ‘You’re evil!’ and yelled: ‘Get me out of here!’
Krim was on the mezzanine ‘holding her middle child, Nessie, screaming incoherently,’ Minihan said.
When Minihan entered the apartment, he said he first saw Ortega, ‘staring…the eyes of the devil in my face,’ he said. ‘Her eyes were bulging.’
Ortega had stabbed herself in the neck in an attempted suicide after killing the two young children.
Minihan told the court that he avoided looking in the direction of the bathroom where the mutilated bodies of Lulu and Leo were lying.
‘I could see the tub and I could see a body or something. I tried as best as I could not to take my eyes off Ms Ortega but I could see there was a mess,’ he said, fighting back tears. ‘I just saw red, I just saw red.’
Building superintendent Michael Minihan (pictured) also testified this week
Prosecutors say Ortega grabbed two kitchen knives and butchered the two children while their mother was blocks away at the dance studio where Lulu was supposed to be.
They added that Ortega waited until Marina Krim found the children dead in the bathroom before plunging a knife into her own neck so that she could relish in the devastated woman’s pain and horror
Prosecutors suggested that Ortega was jealous of Krim because she was financially stable and had a good relationship with her children.
Allegedly, Ortega and felt she deserved to work less and be paid more, but they have said there isn’t a clear motive for the crime.
Ortega said she was angry that the Krims had asked her to clean the house in addition to looking after the children.
The nanny’s attorney, Valerie Van Leer-Greenberg, said Ortega heard voices and saw hallucinations in unchecked disorders.
But New York has a high bar for the insanity defense, and it is rarely successful. To win, Ortega’s lawyers will have to prove she didn’t understand the consequences of her actions and didn’t know right from wrong at the time.
On Friday, in court, Marina Krim stormed out of the courtroom, screaming at Ortega following a harrowing six hours of testifying over two days in
‘You’re evil and you love this! You like this!’ she screamed, wailing: ‘Get me out of here. Please, get me out of here. Get me out!’ as she was escorted out of the courtroom by court officers for a short break.
The judge told jurors to disregard the outburst.
Ortega’s lawyer, Valerie Van Leer-Greenberg (pictured), said Ortega heard voices and saw hallucinations in unchecked disorders. But New York has a high bar for the insanity defense, and it is rarely successful
Ortega (pictured, Friday) faces a minimum of 20 years imprisonment if she is convicted and could be jailed for life without parole
Jurors on Friday watched on surveillance footage as mom Krim stood in the lobby of a dance studio discovering her six-year-old daughter, Lulu, was not at class.
Ortega was supposed to pick up Lulu from kindergarten and walk her to dance class then go home to put Leo down for nap. Krim would go to swimming with her other daughter, three-year-old Nessie, then and head home to meet Leo and Ortega.
Krim showed up to the studio shortly before 5pm, and panicked when Lulu wasn’t there.
As she bends over her phone in the footage, Nessie plays in a bright pink coat in the lobby before Krim grabs her hand and walks out.
She frantically texted Ortega: ‘Where’s Lulu … Donde Estas … Where are you’ but Oretga never answered.
In less than an hour, Krim would find Lulu and Leo, dead in the bathroom of her apartment.
Krim finished her heart-wrenching testimony after about six hours between Thursday and Friday on the stand in the murder trial
The children’s father, Kevin Krim(above with Leo and Nessie), was working as a CNBC executive at the time of the murders. He now works at a start up
Krim testified that Ortega had just been kicked out of her Bronx apartment at the time of the murders according to the New York Post.
‘I would say she was distracted. She was more arrogant…She had that smug look to her, like she has right now. It’s disgusting,’ she recalled, leading up to her children’s brutal murders.
Ortega’s defense attorney asked Krim if she ever considered firing Ortega.
‘There was nothing to fire her about at that point,’ Krim testified. ‘I was aware of her strange behaviors but nothing to fire her over.’
Krim finished her heart-wrenching testimony after about six hours between Thursday and Friday on the stand in the murder trial.
The Krims use a Facebook page to post updates on how they are doing, writing about the arrival of two new children, Felix (left) born in 2013 and Linus (right) in 2016.
The couple started the Lulu and Leo Fund, which aims to support innovative art programs for children. Their daughter, Nessie (pictured), was three at the time of the killings. She is now seven or eight
Jurors also saw a booklet of photos Marina Krim made for Ortega after a trip they all took to see Ortega’s family in the Dominican Republic.
The three children are beaming. In one photo, Ortega holds them, smiling.
Jurors also heard a doorman place a 911 call, and Krim’s anguished screams in the background.
Ortega faces a minimum of 20 years imprisonment if she is convicted and could be jailed for life without parole.
Krim’s husband, Kevin, was a CNBC executive at the time of the murders and now works at a startup.
The Krims use a Facebook page to post updates on how they are doing, writing about the arrival of two new children, Felix born in 2013 and Linus in 2016.
The couple started the Lulu and Leo Fund, which aims to support innovative art programs for children.
They recently posted a video message on Facebook asking that people mention the fund as their case becomes news again.